Irregular Show
by HipsterRed
Summary: This is based off a Mordecai/Benson centric AU I came up with GlitteringClouds
1. Chapter 1

He woke up to the sound of an alarm and the blue jay proceeded to reach over to turn the beeping off. He decided to get up and to get himself ready for the day ahead of him. He walked to the bathroom to take a shower and he dried himself off with a white towel.

Sometimes, the blue jay hated how fluffy his blue feathers were and he had to fix them so he could make himself look presentable for the day. After his breakfast is finished cooking, he sets it on his side table and he hears a knock. He gets up from his chair and he opens the front door of his apartment.

He looks below him to see a newspaper and he picks it up. He pondered for brief moment and he decided to bring the newspaper into the apartment. He looks inside and he only sees the stories. The blue jay was looking for job opportunities since he had been recently laid off from his previous job.

The blue jay was currently living off of his life savings, he was forced to live on a budget. It wasn't easy for him to process, but he was determined to have stability. He continued to look inside of the newspaper and as he turned each page, the more determined he was to spot what he was looking for.

He eventually got his wish and he found a page worth of job listings. The page had a variety of job opportunities that consisted of being a waiter, a window washer, a magician, a body builder, and a teachers assistant. All of the jobs seemed to be promising, but one stuck out to the blue jay and it was a job for a groundskeeper.

When he found out where the location was, he rushed out of the apartment building after he prepared his application to submit to management. As he was running, he saw a red station wagon in front of him and he tried to stop. Even though he attempted to stop, he bumped into the car and he got up from the ground.

When he got up, he panicked because it turns out that he accidentally dented the car. He didn't know who owned it, but as soon as he backed up, he heard someone yell. He started to grow weary of the situation because of how intimidated he felt.

The owner didn't get out of his car, so the individuals weren't aware of their appearances, but the blue jay knew that his tail feathers would be reamed. When the guy started to speak, he with a pissy and nasally voice, so he bailed. He ran to get to the Park and after a few minutes of jogging, he got to the location. He approached the mailbox and as he was about to drop the letter into it, a jolly lollipop man scared the living day lights out of him.

"Oh hello young man, what brings you here to my fathers park?"

The older man spoke in a British accent and the blue jay forced a smile.

"I came to drop off this application at the-"

"Oh, you're applying for a job?"

"Yeah, I am…."

"Oh jolly good show! We need more workers here and believe or not, not many people have applied so its good to see you!"

"Really?"

"Oh yes. It's a shame, since Papa thought we were going to have a bit of success, especially when he brought this place. But alas, we have had only a few go for this job." The lolliman looked up at the jay then suddenly smiled when he saw the piece of paper in his hand. "Would you like me to take that for you?"

Mordecai smiled a bit, maybe he'd get it.

"Oh… Uh thanks…."

He handed the application over to the lolliman.

"Are you the manager?"

"No, but as I said before, my Papa does own this park. The manager is a young fellow called Rigby." From his tone, Mordecai guessed that the old man didn't take a liking to Rigbys position. "I shall give your application to him and he will give you a call tomorrow afternoon." His smile brightened as he gave the resume a onceover. "It was very nice to meet you, Mordecai, and I await your return to the park tomorrow." He held a hand and the lolliman shook it. "My name is Pops by the way."

"It was nice to meet you, Pops."

Pops let go of his hand and spun on his heel, skipping away merrily. Mordecai watched him go, grinning to himself. The next day, Mordecai went back to the Park like he committed to and he was nervous for the interview. He was unsure if he was good enough for the job, even though he had references and previous job experience.

He still had doubts in his mind as he walked into the Park entrance. He wondered who would interview him and he wasn't sure if he would be taken into consideration for the position. As he walked through the entrance, Pops approached him and the blue jay was startled. He noticed that he startled the young man and his expression became soft as he placed his arm around the blue jay.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, I'm just so thrilled that you're here! I didn't think you would show up….."

"Of course I would come, I committed to coming here and to apply for the job. I'm a man of my word, Pops!"

"Oh wonderful! I'll take you to Rigby's office…"

Whenever Pops mentioned him, his entire demeanor changed and it made the blue jay a nervous wreck. He hoped that it wasn't the individual that owned the dented station wagon because he knew that his life would be a living nightmare if it were the case. The lolliman lead Mordecai over to the Park house and he left.

Mordecai didn't know what to do, so he walked into the living room and he saw a white couch. He didn't see anyone sitting on it, so he went over and he sat down. It took awhile, but a brown raccoon approached him.

"So, are you here for today's interview?"

Mordecai's demeanor changed when he released that he was the Park manager. He got up from his chair and he leaned down to shake his hand.

"Yes, I am! I'm-"

"Yeah, I already know who you are, Pops told me about you and your arrival….. Follow me, blue jay, I'm Rigby…"

Mordecai already got bad vibes from the guy and he was having second thoughts about applying for the job. He followed the raccoon up the stairs and they proceeded to go into his office. He sat across from the raccoon and he was handed back an application.

"So, tell me a little about yourself…."

"I'm a college dropout, I've had previous job experience, and I'm here to-"

"So, what are you good at, Mordecai?"

"Umm-"

"No, you don't have to tell me because I don't care!"

Rigby grabbed a donut from the garbage and he ate it in front of Mordecai. The blue jay forced a smile, but secretly, he was grossed out by what he'd just done in front of him. He started to believe what Pops had told him previously about the raccoon, he isn't fit to be the Park manager.

"So tell me, are you good at mowing lawns?"

Mordecai raised his brow at the question, but he continued to have composure of himself.

"Uhhh, maybe?"

Rigby pondered for a brief moment and he finally had come to a decision.

"Good enough, you can start training today….."

Mordecai nearly fell out of his chair, he didn't even expect to get the job. He was ecstatic and he was tempted to hug his boss, but he shook his hand instead.

"Thank you for the opportunity, it's appreciated…"

"Yeah, whatever….. Can you let go now?"

Mordecai blushed and he let go of the raccoon's arm. Rigby dug in his desk drawer until he pulled out his walkie talkie and he proceeded to turn it on.

"Hey gumball, I need a favor…"

"I told you to **_not_ **call me that, Rigby…"

Mordecai's face dropped when he heard the man's voice, he realized that he had dented his car. He felt like an idiot and wanted to run away.

"I'm the boss here, not you! Anyways, I need you to train the new park worker….."

"Sir, why can't **_you _**do it?"

"Because I have too much to do right now and I don't need you to give me sass! I **_can _**take your job away, you know….."

The man sighed in frustration and he hung up.

"You can wait for him in the living room, Mordecai…."

"Okay, thanks…."

He walked out of the office and into the living room. He sat on the sofa and he waited for this guy to show up. He was terrified because he assumed that he would get beaten to a pulp by an individual twice his size. He didn't know what to think and after a while, he began to grow hopeful that he wouldn't show up. 30 minutes later, he felt a tiny ice cold hand on his shoulder and he was startled by it.

When he looked to see who had tapped him, his stomach dropped, it was him. He got up from the couch to introduce himself, but when he did, he'd come to realize how small the guy was. He was a red gumball machine and he stood at 4'9. Mordecai gave him a meek look and he put out his hand to introduce himself.

"H-Hey, I'm Mordecai and you're?"

"Benson….."

"I didn't dent any cars today, how about you?"

He started to laugh nervously and Benson was confused, until he realized that he dented his car the day before. He turned a bright red and Mordecai could feel the heat radiate from the shorter man.

"Oh, so you're the guy that dented my car? Let me tell you something, I only made minimum wage and I busted my butt to save up for it! So, what are you going to do now? Did you come here to make my job harder than it already is?"

"Uhhh Umm…"

"**_Did you?!_**"

"N-No, I didn't even know you even worked here!"

"Whatever, let's just get this over with…."

The gumball machine stormed off and slammed the door, he wasn't in the mood for this.

"Okay, nice to meet you too…"

He was glad that he wasn't able to hear what he said and he went outside to look for him. He stood at the porch and he didn't see where he was until he looked to his left. He went over to where he was and Benson gave him a hateful glare when he sat next to him. He turned his head away from the blue jay and he sighed.

"Come on, dude….. I'm sorry for denting your car yesterday, but I want to put that behind us….."

"No, I don't want to hear it, I have to work twice as hard to pay for the damage….. It'll take me months, even years…."

"Years?"

"**_Years, Mordecai!_**"

"Look, we can we discuss this later? We have to work…."

"Whatever…"

The men stood up and Benson lead him to the cart. He sat in the drivers seat and he put the key into the ignition. They proceeded to drive around the park and they stopped at the snack bar.

"This is our stop?"

"For _now_ it is…."

Mordecai was surprised at his sarcastic demeanor and he decided to go along with what he said, he didn't want to anger him further. Benson parked the cart and they went inside of the snack bar.

"Ok, the first thing you have to do when working at the snack bar is to always be consistent with customer service, even if you think a kid is a brat or a person is having a terrible day…"

"I could name someone who seems to be having one…."

The blue jay gave the gumball machine a cheeky smirk and Benson rolled his eyes at his comment.

"Hey, maybe you should pay attention to what I'm telling you instead of trying to be clever!"

"Oh, so you think I'm clever huh?"

Benson blushed, but he had no problem retaliating.

"Just listen!"

"Ok, geez…"

Benson sighed and he continued.

"As I was saying, you put the tips in the jar and you put the money into the register. When you**_ use _**the register, you have to give them back their change, but that would depend if they actually had**_ any_**…"

"Hmmm Hmmm, simple enough! So, is this the station we're working at?"

"If this wasn't, then why would I have brought you here?"

"Ok, I get the point….. So, do we just wait?"

"Basically…"

"So, we're getting paid to do nothing?"

"To put it bluntly, that's the jest of it…."

The duo stood there and after a couple of minutes, the blue jay was bored out of his mind. He didn't mind the job, but he wanted to know more about his fellow coworker. He kept sighing repeatedly and each time he did, it would become louder. Benson didn't mind at first, but it eventually got to where it was annoying him to no end.

"Do you **_want_** something?"

"Well, it's not that I really want anything, I just want to do something other than sitting in silence. Should we talk to pass the time?"

"I guess…"

"Hmmm hmmm, so do you do anything outside of work?"

"Just occasional trips to the bar and fulfilling responsibilities…."

"I watch football and I occasionally do sketches… Do you have any hobbies?"

"I think thats enough questions for now…"

"But I only asked one-"

"I don't care…"

The gumball machine slumped over the counter as they duo waited for somebody to appear, but no one came for an hour and the blue jay was shocked because he was expecting the guy to crack by now. He didn't have an idea of what to do, but a light bulb went off when he saw the nacho bar. He thought it was the right thing to do and plus, Benson was starting to fall asleep.

"Hey man, I was thinking of taking a break….."

"I'm not moving an inch, **_especially _**if I have to spend time with you!"

"So, you would spend time with me if you didn't have to move an inch?"

Benson was getting flustered, he didn't understand why the guy tried to be friendly towards him, especially when he dented his car the day before. He expected the entire day to be awkward, but this guy was different from other applicants.

"_You know what I meant!_"

Mordecai was amused by his demeanor and he felt like ruffling up his feathers even more.

"Yeah, I guess I do….. Well, I'm going to the coffee shop for my break and if you change your mind about going with me, just give me a call."

Mordecai grabbed a slip of paper from his bag and placed it on top of the counter. He waved off and as soon as he shut the door, he heard him say his name. The blue jay smiled in amusement and he went back in.

"Yeah?"

"So, you're just leaving me here to do this job?"

"Well, I offered for you to come with me and you-"

"I _**know** _what I did, I just don't feel its fair on me to do this by myself!"

"Quit complaining, I'll stay ok?"

"No, just go….."

"Really, I can help…."

"Go….."

"But-"

"**_I want to be left alone!_**"

"O-Okay, geez…."

The blue jay left and he started to walk to the coffee shop. He liked to go to the coffee shop, but he felt awkward whenever he went because his ex girlfriend worked there. He tried to keep his composure, but he would get weird around her and it never worked out. He never felt a spark whenever he was around her and it was a hard decision, but he knew what had to be done. He went inside of the coffee shop and he waited for her to serve him. Instead, a short mole went over to help him.

"Hey, Eileen! Where's Margaret?"

"Oh, she's not here, she only has a night shift now…."

"Oh right! I forgot to tell you, but I applied for a job…"

"That's great, Mordecai! Where did you apply?"

"At the Park down the street….."

Eileen cringed when he brought up the Park and Mordecai raised his brow at her reaction.

"What's wrong?"

"My ex works there…"

"I know how that feels, who's your ex?"

"Rigby….."

"It might explain why he seems miserable….."

"Really?"

"I'm assuming? I'm not sure, but from what I've heard, he's not fit to be the manager…."

"He's not as bad as he seems, but I'm friends with some of the employees…"

"Who?"

"Pretty much everyone, except for Rigby and another guy that works there…."

"Who's the other guy?"

"I don't remember his name, but I don't know him very well and I don't want to try because he seemed really closed off when we met…."

"Yeah, I get your drift…"

"I would be careful with that guy if I were you….. I heard that Rigby almost fired him for destroying the Park in a rage…."

Mordecai opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Eileen spoke up.

"It's complicated to explain….."

He shrugged and he knew what he wanted to drink, but he saw Eileen's face turn from friendly into pure terror. Confused, he turned around and he saw the gumball machine walking toward him. He didn't know if he was supposed to be happy or completely terrified about what would happen next. The gumball machine sat next to him and Eileen grabbed her pad and pen.

"S-So, what would you guys like to order?"

"I want the usual…."

"And how about you, sir?"

Benson's eyes widened when he saw the mole, but he shrugged and proceeded to order.

"I just want black coffee…"

"That's all?"

"That's it, but do **_not_** add cream or sugar to it…."

"I won't…."

Eileen rushed to get his order and this was when the coffee shop was busy. It was difficult to keep up with since she wished Margaret was there, but she understood the situation Margaret was dealing with. Mordecai turned to the gumball machine and he gave him a cheeky smile.

"I thought you wouldn't come…."

"I changed my mind….."

"Did I persuade you or?"

"No, I didn't want to deal with Rigby…."

"Hmmm hmmm, I understand… So, what's your beef with him?"

Benson nearly spit out his coffee, it was too personal for him to explain and he didn't trust the blue jay.

"I'd rather talk about something else….."

"Like what?"

"How's your drink?"

"Hmmm, it's alright….. How about yours?"

"It's a little bitter, but I don't care…"

The duo sat in silence until Eileen came over and gave them the check. She meekly smiled at the gumball machine and she walked away. They both paid for their drinks and they proceeded to make their way back to the Park before Rigby could nag them for making their break longer than expected. When they got back to the Park, they saw Muscle Man and High Five Ghost at the Snack Bar.

"Hey, what are you doing? This is our job, Muscle Man!"

"Chill, Benson, we were getting a snack!"

"Well, you need to pay up…."

"Why? Rigby said that we had to bring them!"

A bright red crept on his face and Mordecai stepped back from him assuming that he would explode in anger.

"Does he even** _care _**about this place?! I'm the only one that does! It'll derail the sales and for the Park, it'll be drastic if he keeps up with his poor management skills!"

"Why didn't Malleard hire-"

"**_Never _**bring that up again or you'll wish you never said that!"

He stormed out of the snack bar and the blue jay turned to the short, troll-looking man.

"What do you mean?"

"By what?"

"Was he supposed to-"

"Yeah, the position was between Benson and Rigby, but Benson became jealous of Rigby after he 'stole' his job….."

"I didn't know all of this….. Thanks um?"

"Muscle Man….."

"Thanks!"

"No problem!"

He went off to find his distraught coworker, but when he couldn't find where he was, his concern grew more and more as the minutes dragged on. The clock was ticking and he wanted to keep an eye on him. He gave up and assumed that he clocked out of the job. He decided to do the same and he decided to walk himself to the bar. The blue jay was an avid drinker, but he made sure to do it in moderation.

The sun started to set over the city and he eventually went inside of the bar. He sat on a stool and when he turned next to him, he saw his coworker asking for further and further rounds of booze. He was shocked that he was a drinker, but as he thought of it more, it could've explained the dark circles under his eyes. He wasn't sure how to approach the man, he knew that he was mad over what happened at work, but he wanted him to be safe since he was drunk.

He decided to wait until his round was finished and he lightly tapped the man on the shoulder. He didn't turn around, he was too out of it to feel the tap on his shoulder and Mordecai tried again. When he didn't respond again, he did it once more and Benson recoiled with the touch. He turned to the jay and he looked terrible, his eyes were blood shot and he had booze all over himself. The smaller man stared him down and he mumbled under his breath.

"Oh, what do **_you_** want?"

"Look, I came for a glass of booze, but I didn't expect you to be here and-"

"What? Is it **_so_** hard for you to believe that I'm a drunk?"

"No, but thats not why I wanted to talk to you…."

"I could care less about talking to a newbie like you…"

"Dude, if you're still pissed off over the car-"

"It's more than just the car!"

"Then what is it?"

"It's just you! You've frustrated me to no end!"

"How are you going to get home?"

"I don't know, but-"

"Dude, can I drive you home?"

"Uh no!"

Mordecai rolled his eyes, was Benson really this petty? He wasn't sure, but he didn't care about that, he just wanted him to get home safely. When he was too resistant for his own good, Mordecai grabbed him by the arm and he tried to fight it (like the blue jay previously predicted). He wasn't going to let him drive in the state he was in and he grabbed the keys out of his red zip up. He let Benson go into the back and he went into the drivers seat.

"So, where do you live?"

"In that apartment complex…"

His eyes widened because that's the same complex he lived in, great! He drove into the parking lot and took the machine into the building. He wished he wouldn't say the floor he lived in, but he nearly jumped in fear when Benson told him the floor, it was the same floor he lived in. The elevator stopped and Benson lead him to his apartment number, 1635. Mordecai's skin crawled since his apartment was right across from his! How did he not notice him? Maybe it was because he just moved in, but it still blew his mind and once he let Benson into his apartment, he quickly went into his.


	2. Chapter 2

Mordecai didn't know what to, he didn't expect something like this to happen on his first day on the job and he was pretty scared as to what would happen in the morning. He decided to call an old friend of his and as he was about to dial for him, his phone rang and he answered the call.

"Hey Mordo! How was your first day on the job?"

"Well, not so great…"

"Why? Was my brother a stick in the mud?"

"I don't know….."

"Here's my advice Mordo: if you want the ol' boss to warm up to ya, you should get him a gift and by a gift, I mean a meatball sub."

"That's it? A meatball sub?"

"It's hard to believe, but yes…. He'll like you if you bring him a meatball sub…"

"Weird… I think it's takes a lot more than just a sub, but I'll do my best to get on your brothers good side. I'm glad you told me to look in the newspaper to see if your brother was hiring, I feel like finances will get better once I get a stable income from working at the Park."

"No problem, Mordo! Also, call me up if you need help with my brother, alright?"

"I will and again, thanks for calling up…"

"As your friend, it's my duty to call to check up on you and oh-"

"What?"

"I have to go to a meeting, I might get a promotion!"

"I'll talk to you soon!"

"Bye, Mordo!"

"Bye, Don!"

Mordecai hung up the phone and he closed the bathroom door. He drew a bath for himself and he let himself get lost in his thoughts. He thoughts of the events that happened this morning and he thought of Benson. Whenever he thought of the man, it made him feel perplexed and he almost felt confused because he couldn't read him. Even though he just met the guy, he seemed to put up walls and he thought it could've been because of what he did to his car, but maybe it was something more. It was an intriguing trait about him, but it was also frustrating because he wanted to know more about him and he wanted to break down the barrier. He had thought about today and he also wondered about Rigby (his best friend's brother) being his boss. He met Don a couple years ago, but he never met Rigby until he was hired for the job and when he first met him, he seemed to be a rock when it came to emotion. He couldn't judge how he did his job since he started working at the Park today, but he hoped that he'd get along with his boss and he wouldn't have issues with him (unlike his fellow coworker). He eventually got out of the tub and it was 8:00pm, he decided to make dinner for himself. He went into the fridge to grab hummus and he went to get some chips out of his cabinet. Once he got his dinner prepared, he sat in front of the television and he watched his favorite sitcom, Carter and Briggs.

* * *

After he watched the Carter and Briggs marathon the night before, he woke up at 8:30am and he realized he didn't have time to brush his feathers. It was only his second day and he felt he'd get a warning for the slip up. The blue jay got ready as quickly as he could and he ran to work instead of driving because he didn't want to risk hitting someone's car again after what happened yesterday. He arrived to the Park and he arrived 15 minutes early. He felt gross and sweaty, but it was worth it because he wouldn't be berated by his boss and he wouldn't annoy his coworker as much. The guy seemed to fly off the handle at the littlest slip ups (judging by what happened yesterday) and he didn't want that to happen again. He sat on the steps and when he did, he sat next to Pops and a white yeti. He looked around to see his other coworkers and it was a bizarre sight. There was a green troll, a ghost with an arm on his head, and a goat. He shrugged and he waited for Rigby to assign the jobs for the day. Mordecai was open to working with anyone, but he was hoping that he didn't get paired up with Benson again.

"Ok, I need Skips and Pops to paint the fence on the side of the tool shed."

The lollipop nodded and the yeti grunted in response.

"Then, I need Muscle Man and High-Five Ghost to water the flowers and mow the lawn."

"You got it, bro!"

"I also need Thomas to, uh, help me with paperwork."

"Um sir, I'm not sure if thats in my department since I'm an-"

"Yeah kid, your pretty good at arithmetic…"

Mordecai's heart dropped to his stomach when he realized that he didn't hear his or Benson's name called because that could only mean…

"Last, but not least, I need my favorite employee to help the newbie again and to give him this name tag from my office."

Crap, not again…

Mordecai saw Benson sashay over to the raccoon to get the name tag and as he gave a fake smile, he gave Mordecai a death glare. Mordecai gulped and everyone left to do their jobs for the day, that only left him with Benson (who didn't look thrilled to be with the blue jay. When Mordecai stared at Benson, he got another glare and he crossed his arms.

"Look Mordecai, the only reason why I haven't strangled you yet is because I have a job to keep and if I didn't, you'd be dead by now…"

Mordecai cocked an eyebrow and Benson perked up after clasping his hands together.

"Now that I've gotten _that_ out of the way, you can follow me to the restrooms that we have to clean…"

Mordecai stood up and he followed the gumball machine to the restrooms. When they went to do the job, you could cut the tension with a knife and that felt unsettling to Mordecai. He wanted to speak up about the situation, but he didn't want to while working because if he did, he was afraid of getting an earful or worse, get screamed at. The blue jay couldn't help but wonder something: why was he afraid of his coworker? It seemed completely absurd for him to be scared of him because he could defend himself if needed.

Plus, the guy was under 5 feet tall and he needed to learn how to loosen up. The more the blue jay thought of that, the more bigger his smile got and it got to where he started to laugh. This interrupted Benson's concentration and he turned to the blue jay, giving him a scowl. He walked up to the laughing bird and Mordecai stopped laughing for a brief moment. This moment was cut short when he looked down and he started laughing again. This confused Benson and it only made him start fuming even more. Mordecai started to settle down after a few minutes and this earned him a tap on the shoulder by Benson. He turned to the gumball machine and he cocked an eyebrow at Benson.

"What the heck was so funny?"

"Nothing, heheheh!"

Benson rolled his eyes and he turned around to get his broom. He picked it up and he started mopping again.

"Whatever, I don't even care… Just get back to work so we can keep our jobs…"

This statement made a light bulb go off in Mordecai's head and he put a wing on Benson's shoulder.

"We can do this job later, Benson…"

"W-What?! No we can't! We could lose our jobs over th-"

"That's not important right now, I think we should take a break…"

"You can go, but I'm not leaving until this job gets finished…"

Mordecai shrugged his shoulders and this made Benson cock an eyebrow.

"Alright, you can do the job if you want…"

Mordecai dropped his mop on the floor and he headed towards the door, he turned his head towards the gumball machine.

"Oh and another thing….. If you need me, you can call my cell phone….. See you later, dude…"

Mordecai shut the door and this left the gumball machine speechless. He crossed his arms (causing the mop to drop on the floor) and rolled his eyes at the door. He picked the mop back up and he starting mumbling things under his breath.

"Useless coworker, he's always slacking off and I'm the only one that cares about this place… If it weren't for me, this place would be shut down by the health department…"

* * *

Mordecai decided to go towards the arcade and once he did, he felt like he was dreaming. All feelings of nostalgia hit him once he entered through the arcade and he began to wander through the halls of the arcade, unsure of what to play first. It took awhile for him to decide, but he eventually went over to the Super Donkey Bros hall and he played the very first release of the game on the Intendo 64' console. After an hour of playing the game, he felt a tap on his shoulder after he beat the highest score and he turned to face a giant floating head. The bird gulped and he took notice of how hairy he was.

"H-Hello sir! May I help you?"

"Yes, you actually can! I'm Garrett Bobby Ferguson or GBF for short, you just beat my high score and I challenge you to a rematch!"

Everyone around the arcade crowded the men and two arms came out of Garrett Bobby Ferguson's beard.

"Is it a deal?"

Mordecai looked up at him and he shook his hand. Everyone gasped and Garrett Bobby Ferguson started to laugh in an evil manner as if he were a cartoon villain. He gulped at the sight of him and the two went over to the game. Garrett Bobby Ferguson went to put a quarter into the machine first and he proceeded to keep getting higher scores than Mordecai during each round, he had to up his game if he wanted to beat Garrett Bobby Ferguson. As he was about to go up to the machine to play the last few rounds against him, his cell phone rang and he answered.

"Hello?"

"Mordecai, where the heck have you been? You left the Park 4 hours ago!"

"Oh sorry, I'm sort of competing for the title winner of this video game right now, but-"

"What?! Never mind, I don't know why I asked, but you have to come back!"

"Why?"

"Because you left me here and Rigby's supposed to check up on our progress! If you're late, we could get a verbal warning or even a write up….."

"Okay, I'll come back now…."

"Thanks, but hurry, you don't have a lot of time!"

"Don't worry, I'll be there!"

"You better because if you not, you're dead!"

Benson hung up the phone and Mordecai turned to Garrett Bobby Ferguson.

"Sorry dude, but we'll have to continue this tournament later…"

Mordecai wrote his number down on a slip of paper and handed it to him.

"See ya!"

Mordecai left the arcade and he ran back to the Park as quickly as he could. When he got to the Park, he checked the clock on his cell phone and it said he only had 5 minutes left to get to Benson. He went as fast as he could and he felt relieved once he reached the restrooms. He shut the door in a swift motion and Benson was so startled by the sound of Mordecai coming in that he dropped his mop, he swore under his breath as he picked it back up. Mordecai ignored what he said and Benson raised a hand to speak.

"So, did Rigby see you?"

"I don't think so, I didn't see him outside when I was looking for the restrooms."

"Good, somedays he randomly-"

The door opened once more and the both of them dropped their mops this time. They turned to the door and they saw Rigby observing them. He looked at the duo and he gave them a thumbs up as he left the restrooms. The two looked at each other and Mordecai noticed Benson's agape expression.

"How did you? What did you-"

"I bought him a meatball sub…"

Benson raised a brow at the bird.

"That's it? That's how you got him to like you?"

"Yup…"

Benson smacked his forehead and he started laughing from annoyance.

"That's SO simple, why didn't I think of that? He's had beef with me for years, but our situation is different… If it was me, I would have to purchase every single meatball sub in the world before he'd ever like me…"

"Muscle Man said what happened…"

Benson's calm demeanor with the blue jay turned into pure irate.

"It's rude to ask about peoples personal affairs, you know…."

"Dude, I didn't-"

"Why? Are you going to ditch me again like you did the past two days?!"

"No, but I've tried to be civil towards you regardless of the events… Plus, I didn't even ask about it, he told me!"

Benson turned away from the blue jay and crossed his arms.

"Whatever, I can do this job on my own…"

"I'm not leaving, Benson…"

He was pissed now, he turned around to face him and the two were having a stand off.

"You know, my job was a lot easier before you showed up!"

"I've only been here for two days…"

Benson made a huff and he crossed his arms.

"W-Well, there's enough evidence for me to make that statement…"

"Is it nice to have someone working beside you?"

Benson cocked his brow at the jay.

"How would I know?"

He shrugged his shoulders at the bird.

"I get ditched during work hours…"

"No, I meant, is it nice to have someone to talk to?"

Benson gave Mordecai a sassy look as he felt himself tense up.

"What do you mean? I have plenty of people that I associate myself with…"

"Like who? Can you name people from the Park?"

"Well, there's- Wait, why did I even consider answering that? It's not your business, I don't have to tell you anything!"

Benson bent down to grab the broom, but stopped once he saw Mordecai opening his mouth to respond.

"See, you proved my point, Benson…"

He wrapped his arm around the gumball machine and he started to blush.

"You refuse to open yourself up to people, so you've created an artificial wall to avoid getting hurt again due to past experiences."

Benson slapped his hand away.

"You don't know anything about me and I would prefer it to remain that way, _got it?_"

Mordecai rolled his eyes and he walked away to grab the broom.

"Okay, suit yourself…"

Benson saw Mordecai going towards the broom and he couldn't stand his presence any longer.

"Get out…"

"What?"

"Just go back to your arcade…"

"I just got back to come help you…"

"I don't need your help, I can do this job on my own…"

"Benson…"

"Go…"

Mordecai placed the broom on the floor and he crossed his arms.

"No…"

"Go, Mordecai!"

"No!"

Benson turned red.

"Go before I wreck the bathroom!"

"Okay, Okay…"

Mordecai left the restrooms and he decided to go to Rigby to see if he could work with someone who wasn't so rigid. He headed to the House and he went up the stairs. He stood outside of Rigby's office and he knocked on the door. He heard footsteps and he saw the door open, inviting him to come inside. Mordecai walked into his office and the both sat across from each other.

"So tell me, how's the job?"

Mordecai wasn't sure how to address it, but he wanted to say it lightly and to put it as nicely as he could.

"It's good, but I've come to discuss something with you…"

"Go on…"

"Well, I'm not sure how to put this because I'm not meaning to complain, but I'm not really sure if I-I want to work with Benson…"

Rigby just stared at him and this perplexed the bird.

"So, I came to ask for another person to work with instead…"

Rigby was unfazed, but he grabbed his clipboard and a pen beside him.

"I don't know if I can do that, but I can make someone else work with you two if you want."

Mordecai never thought of that, but he was open to it and he was willing to try anything at this point.

"Thank you, Rigby… I don't know why, but he's been unbearable for the short time I've known him for."

"Well, he's usually like that when it comes to people like you and I…"

Mordecai felt confused because he was unsure if that was a compliment or an insult based off what Pops had told him.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you skip your jobs for the past two days?"

Mordecai's eyes got wide and he sighed.

"Yeah, but-"

"I'm not mad."

Mordecai cocked an eyebrow at his boss.

"You're not?"

"Nope, I actually see myself in you."

"That makes sense…"

Rigby turned his chair to the wall, the back of it was facing Mordecai and the bird got up from his chair.

"Well, you can tell Benson that I'm sending you both home early."

He was shocked by what his boss said, he thought he'd misspoken.

"Really?"

"Yup, I'm rewarding you for telling the truth."

"Well, okay. Thanks…"

Mordecai proceeded to walk out and Rigby continued to play solitaire on the computer. Mordecai walked down the stairs and he shut the door to the house. He went to find Benson and he opened the stall door to the unisex restroom. Benson heavily sighed when he walked in and he wouldn't look at the blue jay.

"Oh, it's you…"

"Yup, it's me. I came to tell you that Rigby is sending us home early."

Benson's mouth dropped, he turned red. By his reaction, Mordecai figured that was bad.

"What's wrong?"

Benson threw the mop on the floor and he slammed the door, Mordecai sighed.

"Bye."

* * *

Benson was fuming at the thought of the bird, his presence made his mood go sour and he noticed that he would turn irate to those that were incompetent. The favoritism Rigby was showing to Mordecai was outrageous and it perplexed the gumball machine. He walked to his car and he stepped on the gas, he tried to leave the Park as fast as he could. Sometimes he hated his job, but this thought process was going on before Mordecai even showed up and it intensified once he was hired to work alongside him at the Park. He thought of ways to cope with the situation, but the anger management workbooks never helped and he felt at his wits end when it came to Rigby. Those two got along once, but his respect for him shriveled away after he got promoted to Park Manager.

After the stunts Mordecai pulled, he was confident that the guy would get him fired at some point and he didn't want that. No one could tell, but the Park was the only thing he had and if he lost his job, he would lose everything he had. You would think that he got along with his family pretty decently, but that was far from the truth, he was very good at hiding the resentment he had towards them. He continued to drive along until he stumbled across a store and he proceeded to go inside after locking up his car. After he found everything he needed, he went to the counter to do a self checkout. Once he scanned his card and got his receipt, he headed out to his car. He put the bags into the trunk and he put the cart back. Then, he headed back to his car and he drove off. He drove again and before he could get back to his apartment, he spotted the coffee shop.

He usually picked up booze after work, but after the day he had and the fact that his favorite coworker had to escort him back to his apartment the day before, he knew that coffee was a better alternative. He parked his car in front of the shop and he went inside. When he went inside, he saw Eileen and he noticed that she didn't seem as nervous around him like the day before. She led him to a table and she left him alone so he could order. After a few minutes, she came back to check up on him to see if he was ready and he proceeded to order. After she got his order ready, she set it on the table along with the check and once he was done, he got a coffee to go. He was relieved to be back at his apartment, but he realized that he had to put his stuff away and he sighed. After he put the majority of it away, he only had one bag left and he realized that it was the bag filled with his cat supplies.

He walked slowly to the bag in question and he went through it. As he went through it, he found what he was looking for, the cat sweaters. His face brightened up when he saw McFluffin going up to his feet and he started purring as he rubbed himself against the gumball machine. His expression softened and he picked him up from the ground. He put a sweater on him and with McFluffin in his hands, he went to relax on his recliner for awhile. He found himself dozing off after a couple hours of watching his favorite soap opera, but he didn't care and he figured that he would wake up in a couple hours.


End file.
